Janitorial Tips: Must-have’s for your office desk

by editor on October 17, 2011

Your janitorial service comes through a couple of times a week and empties the trash, dusts, vacuums and cleans the windows, but what about the times in between? What if you have food in your trash can that is starting to smell? What if you spill coffee or soda on your desk? Is the rapid accumulation of dust causing you to sneeze and wheeze? You can’t rely on your janitorial service to do everything to keep your office area clean; some of the cleaning tasks are your responsibility. Here are some items that should be on everyone’s desk to keep up the cleanliness in between janitorial visits.

Extra trash bags. Some people barely create any trash at all, but if you have to-go coffee every morning and eat lunch at your desk, chances are your trash can fills up quickly. If the janitorial company only empties the trash a few times a week, you might want to consider taking out your own trash. Not only will emptying your trash regularly guard against any foul odors from food or coffee, but it will also keep ants and possibly rodents from lurking around your cubicle.

Disinfectant wipes. Offices can be some of the most germ-infested places and you happen to spend quite a bit of time there. Since illness is easy to spread in close quarters, you should have a stash of disinfectant wipes handy to periodically clean your phone, mouse, keyboard, desk and any other surface area that can be cleaned.

Air freshener. If your office doesn’t have windows, it might get a little stale in there every so often. Choose an air freshener that is neutral, so as not to offend anyone who might not enjoy the scent as much as you do.

Compressed air. Look down at your keyboard. If it’s a black keyboard but looks gray from all the dust, that might be an indication that it needs a good cleaning. Cans of compressed air come in handy for removing the dust and other debris that can accumulate on your keyboard.